Google: 30.3 million app downloads on the Play Store in 2018 were potentially harmful
5 years, 9 months ago

Google: 30.3 million app downloads on the Play Store in 2018 were potentially harmful

Firstpost  

Google’s Android is by far one of the most popular mobile operating systems in the world today but security issues have always been a cause of concern for the company. The company has been trying to tackle these issues over time, making changes to the way permissions are approved for Android apps, however, an estimate by SensorTower states that as many as 30.3 million apps on the Play Store have been categorised as potentially harmful apps. The company claimed that they had prevented a whopping 1.6 billion potentially harmful app installation attempts from outside of Google Play Store. Google in its annual report noted that in 2018, some 0.08 percent of devices that used Google Play exclusively for app downloads were affected by potentially harmful apps. This means that while Google’s crackdown on potentially harmful apps which are sideloaded, has been strong in 2018, the same isn’t quite true for apps within the Play Store.

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History of this topic

Judge weighs proposed changes to Google’s Android app store to prevent anticompetitive tactics
7 months, 2 weeks ago

Judge weighs proposed changes to Google’s Android app store to prevent anticompetitive tactics

Associated Press  

SAN FRANCISCO — Google is tried to confront the latest in a succession of legal attacks on its digital empire on Thursday as federal judge began to address anticompetitive practices in the app market for smartphones powered by its Android software. The San Francisco court hearing before U.S. District Judge James Donato comes five months after a nine-person jury decided …

A Jury Will Decide If Google's App Store Is an Unjust Monopoly
1 year, 2 months ago

A Jury Will Decide If Google's App Store Is an Unjust Monopoly

Wired  

When Fortnite video game creator Epic Games sued Google in 2020 over the monopoly held by its official Google Play Android app store, its allegations that the company was unfairly restricting competition immediately resonated with developer Hans-Christoph Steiner. If Epic beats Google at the trial scheduled to begin tomorrow in San Francisco, Google may be forced to make it easier …

"Google Removes 43 Android Apps with 2.5 Million Downloads Violating Play Store Policy: How to Protect Your Device"
1 year, 5 months ago

"Google Removes 43 Android Apps with 2.5 Million Downloads Violating Play Store Policy: How to Protect Your Device"

The Hindu  

Google removed 43 Android apps with 2.5 million collective downloads from the app store. The apps were found to be violating Google Play Developer policy, loading ads while the device’s screen is off. While loading ads when a device’s screen is turned off may seem convenient, the applications could affect not just a device’s battery but also increase data consumption …

Google Play Apps with 1.5 million installs found sending sensitive data to China: Details
1 year, 6 months ago

Google Play Apps with 1.5 million installs found sending sensitive data to China: Details

India TV News  

Malicious file management applications posing as legitimate apps have been discovered on the Google Play Store, collectively accumulating over 1.5 million downloads. These apps, disguised as file management tools, secretly exfiltrated sensitive user data to malicious servers based in China. Although the apps claimed not to collect any data on the Google Play website, the security researchers found that they …

Play Store policy breaches to face action
1 year, 7 months ago

Play Store policy breaches to face action

Live Mint  

Google Inc. is set to initiate strict action against Indian apps that fail to comply with its billing policies on Play Store. The announcement follows the controversy over its Play Store policies which led to the Competition Commission of India directing the tech behemoth to allow third-party payment systems for apps on the Play Store. Android apps disseminated via the …

Android malware on Google Play Store apps behind unauthorised subscription charges: Report
1 year, 8 months ago

Android malware on Google Play Store apps behind unauthorised subscription charges: Report

The Hindu  

Fleckpe, a new Android malware, installed over 620,000 times on Google Play, was found generating unauthorised charges by subscribing users to premium services. The malware was disguised as legitimate apps and was being spread as part of photo editing apps, smartphone wallpapers packs, and other commonly available apps on the Google Play Store. The Trojan malware works by remaining unnoticed, …

Google stopped 1.43 million apps, banned 173K malicious developer accounts on Play Store
1 year, 8 months ago

Google stopped 1.43 million apps, banned 173K malicious developer accounts on Play Store

The Hindu  

Google in 2022, prevented 1.43 million policy-violating apps from being published on Google Play. The company also blocked 173K malicious developers and fraud rings preventing over $2 billion in fraudulent and abusive transactions, the company said in its security blog post. Google also implemented additional requirements to be fulfilled by developers looking to join the Play Store ecosystem. Google also …

Google prevented 1.43 million apps from entering Play Store for policy violation
1 year, 8 months ago

Google prevented 1.43 million apps from entering Play Store for policy violation

Live Mint  

Search giant Google said Thursday that it has blocked more than 1.43 million ‘policy-violating apps’ from entering the Play Store. The company also said it has "raised the bar" for new developers joining the Play Store ecosystem, resulting in a reduction in the number of accounts used to publish violative apps. In a blog post on Thursday, the search giant …

Google bans 36 malicious Android apps with over 100 million downloads on Play Store
1 year, 8 months ago

Google bans 36 malicious Android apps with over 100 million downloads on Play Store

India Today  

Google has banned 36 malicious Android apps from Play Store, which were first spotted by McAfee. In addition to this, the library is also capable of performing ad fraud by clicking The cited source revealed that more than 60 apps with this third-party malicious library have been discovered by the company and these have more than 100 million downloads in …

Hundreds Of Android And iOS Apps Put Millions At Risk: Uninstall Now
1 year, 11 months ago

Hundreds Of Android And iOS Apps Put Millions At Risk: Uninstall Now

News 18  

The week has started with a serious concern for smartphone users across the globe. The list of the apps have been given by the DES and NCSA which includes apps like: – 4K Pro Camera – Beat Maker Pro – Art Filters – Blue Scanner – Chat SMS – Cool Messages – Easy PDF Scanner – Frames, Funny Caller – …

Dangerous Android apps with over 2 million downloads found on Play Store, delete them immediately
2 years, 1 month ago

Dangerous Android apps with over 2 million downloads found on Play Store, delete them immediately

India Today  

A security firm has discovered a bunch of apps on the Google Play app store laden with dangerous malware that can steal user data. The apps discovered by Dr Web antivirus-promised productivity tools have over 2 million downloads collectivity. Some of the malware-laden apps are unavailable on Google Play, though users may still have them installed on their phones. One …

Malware Apps With 2 Million Install Pose Risk For Android Users: Find Out Why
2 years, 1 month ago

Malware Apps With 2 Million Install Pose Risk For Android Users: Find Out Why

News 18  

More than 2 million people have been tricked into installing malware, and phishing apps that have bypassed Google’s security checks to show up on the Play Store. The apps have been installed by over 2 million apps which is no small feat and raise concerns about Google’s apparent security standards of approving apps before they are listed on the Play …

Google Play Store Update: Apps with 20 million downloads got removed
2 years, 2 months ago

Google Play Store Update: Apps with 20 million downloads got removed

India TV News  

Google has recently removed apps from the Play Store, which had more than 20 million downloads. According to the McAfee report, Google identified the new Clicker malware that sneaked into Google Play. A total, of 16 applications that were previously on Google Play have been confirmed to have the malicious payload with an assumed 20 million installations. The security researchers …

Apple App Store saved users from dangerous fraudulent transactions worth $1.5 billion, know what happened
2 years, 7 months ago

Apple App Store saved users from dangerous fraudulent transactions worth $1.5 billion, know what happened

India TV News  

Apple had announced in 2020 that it has been protecting the customers from more than $1.5 billion USD fraudulent transactions on the App Store. In an annual update to the analysis which Apple shared last year, the company has further announced that $1.5 billion-worth fraudulent transactions have been stopped on the App Store. This is a must to mention that …

Stop using these anti-virus apps from Google Play Store, as they are stealing data
2 years, 9 months ago

Stop using these anti-virus apps from Google Play Store, as they are stealing data

India TV News  

In a bizarre incident, at least 15,000 Android users downloaded anti-malware apps from Google Play Store which, instead of protecting them from hackers, infected their devices to steal passwords, bank details and other personal information, a new report showed on Thursday. The six malware apps in the disguise of anti-virus apps have now been removed by Google from Play Store …

Google removed 150 malicious apps from Play Store, check the list
3 years, 2 months ago

Google removed 150 malicious apps from Play Store, check the list

India Today  

Google has banned more than 150 malicious apps from Play Store. The apps that were removed by Google from play store were part of a campaign called UltimaSMS wherein the malicious actors lure victims to sign in for premium SMS services. The users fell for the scam because the apps promised money in return of the services, as per Avast …

Google Play app store revenue hit $11.2 bln in 2019, lawsuit says
3 years, 4 months ago

Google Play app store revenue hit $11.2 bln in 2019, lawsuit says

The Hindu  

Alphabet Inc's Google generated $11.2 billion in revenue from its mobile app store in 2019, according to a court filing unsealed on Saturday, offering a clear view into the service's financial results for the first time. Attorneys general for Utah and 36 other U.S. states or districts suing Google over alleged antitrust violations with the app store also said in …

Google Play Store lawsuit: Dozens of US states are suing over app store practices
3 years, 6 months ago

Google Play Store lawsuit: Dozens of US states are suing over app store practices

CNN  

CNN Business — Dozens of states have filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google that zeroes in on its app store practices. According to Wednesday’s complaint, Google holds a monopoly on Android app distribution in the United States, and has used restrictive contracts to force Android device makers to promote the Google Play Store at the expense of competition. According to …

Free apps that scam people later made $400 million in revenue, report says
3 years, 9 months ago

Free apps that scam people later made $400 million in revenue, report says

The Hindu  

Fleeceware are mobile apps that comes with a short free trial, and later charge an huge subscription fee. Hundreds of such apps have earned over $400 million in revenue on the both Apple and Google’s app marketplace, according to a report by security solution provider Avast. The team discovered 204 applications: 134 apps in App Store, and 70 in Play …

Google Play Store key source of malware installs on Android, study finds
4 years, 1 month ago

Google Play Store key source of malware installs on Android, study finds

The Hindu  

Google Play Store has been identified as the main distribution vector for most malware installs on Android, according to a recent study by researchers from NortonLifeLock and the IMDEA Software Institute in Madrid, Spain. Unwanted app distribution on android devices’, researchers have analysed 12 million Android devices and their connection between apps over a four-month period between June and September …

Google notified of 21 adware gaming apps on Play Store
4 years, 2 months ago

Google notified of 21 adware gaming apps on Play Store

The Hindu  

Cybersecurity firm Avast has discovered 21 adware gaming apps on Google’s Play Store, and reported them to search giant, and Google is investigating the reports. Off the 21 apps containing advertising supported software that automatically displays unwanted They have been downloaded about eight million times, according to the data by mobile app marketing intelligence and insights firm, Sensor Tower. The …

Cybersecurity Firm Avast Warns Google of 21 Adware Gaming Apps on Play Store, Android Users Beware
4 years, 2 months ago

Cybersecurity Firm Avast Warns Google of 21 Adware Gaming Apps on Play Store, Android Users Beware

News 18  

Cybersecurity firm Avast has warned Google of 21 adware gaming apps on the Google Play Store of which 19 are still available to download. At the moment, Google is still investigating reports on the adware gaming apps, the company added. After downloading them from Google Play Store, the gaming apps hardly offered anything from what they promoted but bombarded the …

Attention Android Users, the Google Play Store is Full of Viruses: Beware of What You Download
4 years, 3 months ago

Attention Android Users, the Google Play Store is Full of Viruses: Beware of What You Download

News 18  

Android users, be very careful before downloading an app that you do not know much about. Recent reports surfacing from numerous cyber security organisations state that the Google Play Store is facing an increasing influx of advanced malware now, more than ever before. The case in point is a recent report by cyber security organisation Zscaler, whose ThreatLabZ security research …

Google Removes 17 Android Apps From Play Store After They Were Found Stealing User Data
4 years, 3 months ago

Google Removes 17 Android Apps From Play Store After They Were Found Stealing User Data

News 18  

Google has removed 17 Android applications from its Play Store after they were found to be infected with Joker malware. Zscaler security researcher Viral Gandhi said that Google’s Android Security team took prompt action to remove the suspicious apps from the Google Play store. Further, Zscaler went on to explain the tactics used by the malware author to bypass Google …

Google removes 17 apps from Play Store that intend to gain user data access
4 years, 3 months ago

Google removes 17 apps from Play Store that intend to gain user data access

India Today  

Google has removed 17 Android applications from its official distribution service platform -Play Store. "This spyware is designed to steal SMS messages, contact lists, and device information, along with silently signing up the victim for premium wireless application protocol services," Zscaler security researcher Viral Gandhi said. As soon as Google was notified about the 17 malicious apps that intend to …

Android Users Alert! The Following 'Fleeceware' Apps Can Cost You Thousands
4 years, 4 months ago

Android Users Alert! The Following 'Fleeceware' Apps Can Cost You Thousands

News 18  

Cybersecurity experts have revealed that a batch of misleading apps on Google Play Store has the potential to dupe users and cost them thousands. Researchers from IT security company Sophos added that these 23 apps clearly violate Google Play Store’s security policies as well. Chandraiah in his blog post detailed that the creators on Google Play use a ‘blind subscription’ …

Android users should uninstall these 36 fraudulent beauty apps, researchers warn
4 years, 6 months ago

Android users should uninstall these 36 fraudulent beauty apps, researchers warn

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Researchers from WhiteOps found fraudulent code in a number of beauty camera applications, with names such as …

Avoid these iOS apps have Fleeceware and can steal your money
4 years, 8 months ago

Avoid these iOS apps have Fleeceware and can steal your money

India TV News  

Usually, Google Play Store is the one being home to malware-laden apps or the ones with malicious intentions and Apple is the one coming with all the security. The blog post by Sophos Labs reads, "Fleeceware apps are not officially malicious, but they are unethical, preying on consumer trust with devious techniques designed to make money. This suggests that both …

Delete now! These 21 Android apps have ‘Fleeceware’: Know what it is
4 years, 11 months ago

Delete now! These 21 Android apps have ‘Fleeceware’: Know what it is

India TV News  

Google Play Store is prone to malicious apps and the statement stands true as security researchers at UK-based Sophos have yet again found out a new set of Android apps with ‘Fleeceware,’ with the apps crossing millions of downloads. The 21 'Fleeceware' apps According to the Sophos researchers, 17 apps on the Google Play Store are Fleeceware apps. Here are …

Here are the 104 Android apps you should not install from Google Play Store
5 years ago

Here are the 104 Android apps you should not install from Google Play Store

India TV News  

While year-ender lists mostly include the apps you should definitely install and try out, we have a new list of Android apps you should NOT download. According to a security research firm White Ops, there are 104 apps on the Google Play Store that shouldn’t be in your Android smartphones. Here are the 104 apps you shouldn’t go for: 104 …

How 18 Malware Apps Snuck Into Apple's App Store
55 years ago

How 18 Malware Apps Snuck Into Apple's App Store

Wired  

Despite some recent pronounced lapses, the iPhone remains one of the most secure consumer devices you can buy, thanks in large part to the locked-down ecosystem of the iOS App Store. That sort of adware makes regular appearances on Android, in part because that platform’s third-party app stores are riddled with bad actors. Wandera's security software flagged some unusual activity …

Google removes 27 apps that guided users to fake Play Store
5 years, 4 months ago

Google removes 27 apps that guided users to fake Play Store

Live Mint  

New Delhi: Google has removed 27 apps that prompted users to install a fake Play Store after researchers from Pune-based Quick Heal Technologies spotted these malicious apps of dropper category and reported the issue. These apps were designed to infect devices with adware after someone fell prey to their continuous installation prompts for fake "Google Play Store", Quick Heal Security …

Google Play Store purges popular Chinese developer's apps on account of ad-fraud
5 years, 8 months ago

Google Play Store purges popular Chinese developer's apps on account of ad-fraud

Firstpost  

Do Global has had up to 46 apps removed from the Google Play Store and many more could bite the dust. Chinese firm DO Global, which makes Android apps, has been deemed by Google as a creator of fraudulent ads on its apps and the Mountain View-based giant has purged most of DO Global’s apps. As per a report by …

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